Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a data-driven system to (a) identify and (b) address disparities in the early diagnosis of cancer.

The Department remains committed to making improvements across different cancer types and to reducing disparities in cancer survival. Early cancer diagnosis is also a specific priority within the National Health Service’s wider Core20Plus5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities.

The National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England is the cancer registry for England and collects data on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients. The data collected captures a patient’s complete journey from referral, diagnosis, treatment, outcomes, experience, and survival. The data collected is used to inform trends and monitor and detect changes in health and disease in the population, including disparities in diagnosis. NDRS’s strategic priorities focus on making data more timely and accessible, and better understanding health inequalities.

Furthermore, the National Cancer Plan, to be published in the new year, will include further details on how we will use data to improve outcomes for cancer patients in England, including by driving earlier diagnosis and reducing the gap in early diagnosis between those living in the richest and poorest areas.